Annamalai had made an important place in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by leaving the Indian Police Service (IPS) and entering politics. While in BJP, he had strongly criticized Periyar. Many times such comments of his became a cause of embarrassment for BJP also. Now the same Annamalai has left BJP and is being trolled by posting a post on Periyar's birthday. People who once became Annamalai's supporters because of her criticism of Periyar say that they did not expect such a U-turn. Annamalai's old speeches are being posted on social media and now they are trending on X.
Ever since leaving BJP, it has been seen that Annamalai is leaning towards Dravidian politics. Even while leaving the party, he had hinted towards the same. Till now Annamalai has not joined any party but there is talk that he may form his own party before the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 2031. Meanwhile, he is constantly being criticized for his constantly changing stance.
What will Annamalai say now on Periyar?
On the occasion of EV Periyar's birthday on Thursday, Annamalai wrote on X, 'Today is the birthday of Periyar who played an important role in social reform movements and left an unprecedented impact on the political and social history of Tamil Nadu. We are remembering Periyar who spent most of his life fighting against the inequality and superstition prevalent in the society.
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Annamalai's supporters are posting many videos and comments on this same X post. Many people have also written making fun of Annamalai that if you want to do politics in Tamil Nadu then you will have to fall at the feet of Periyar. Some people even cursed themselves for supporting Annamalai.
A person named Madan has written, 'I have been your supporter ever since you came into politics, but today for the first time I am disappointed with you.'
A businessman named Vijay Tirumalai writes, 'Two-three years ago I met Annamalai in Bengaluru. The 90 minute meeting was great. She had great vision, her heart was in the right place and she was not like that. It's very sad to see this decline after that conversation. Now Annamalai has zero niche.
What did Annamalai say earlier?
Many videos of Annamalai are coming out in which he is directly criticizing Periyar. There is a video of his in which he says about Periyar that his views were such that DMK destroyed the documents. He also said that it is not right to talk about Periyar as children and women are watching.
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Not only this, while being in BJP, Annamalai had been doing many things which Periyar called superstition and opposed. For example, after the sexual harassment incident at Anna University, Annamalai publicly flogged herself and swore that she would remain barefoot until the DMK government was ousted from power. He said that for him it was a critique of himself and thus he was offering it to Lord Murugan.
Let us tell you that in Tamil Hindu culture, this custom of flogging is called 'Sattai Adi'. Similarly, people walk on cuckoos or prick their cheeks with needles. Let us tell you that Periyar had been fighting against such things and was a strict critic of these customs.